The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1887-01-01
dependence Baltimore County Union.
FIRST VISIT TO EUROPE.
PAPER No. 9.

rron Ohamounlx 10 deneva, by way OF YER
nayaz, is journey full of interest and charm
The wonderful Gorge de TRENT, at the latter point,
like most Of the Swiss gorges, is so concealed by
the great walls of rock which lift themselves every
where about this portion of the Rhone valley that
one would never suspect its existence. 1t is
cleft over four hundred feet in depth, yet mar
row that man could easily leap over the top of
the chasm; indeed it more resembles q cavern
with long slender opening in the vaulted roof
than the river canon which it really is. Nature
has provided no means of access to the hidden
wonders of this gorge for the river bed fills the
whole width of the base; but humanity-especial-
ly Swiss humanity-is not easily defied by nature,
and along one wall of the gorge has been built a
wooden gallery supported by huge iron rods
screwed to the rock.
So narrow, so tortuous is the line of this gorge
that it might have been the work of giant scroll
saw. But its sides are covered with moss and
adorned with ferns, and the waters of the stream
make the bed a scene of varying beauty as they
dash noisily against the sheer walls of rock at
point, seethe and boil in deep combining pool at
another, steal silently into gloomy cave to lie in
suen quiet at still another, the silence and inky
blackness of the parts in shadow making strong
contrast to the babbling noise and foaming white
ness of the portions lying under the line of light
that falls vertically into the chasm.
As the train from Vernayaz nears Veytaux,
against the sapphire waters and emerald banks of
sve walls and towers of the Castle of Chillon. 1t
stands upon an isolated rock at some distance
from the shore and seems to rise out of the lake
itself, a building of enchantment. We enter a
little boat-a sort of gondola-with brilliant hued
awning and gaudy trappings, and are rowed
through the soft delicious air to the castle land
ing. pompous guard in military garb bids US
halt until guide can be summoned, and all hope
of wandering dreamiy over the building in poetic
self communing vanishes as brisk, bustling
French woman appears and with "uous etes
pressc nest ce pas" proceeds to rush us through
the place at break neck speed. Our sympathy for
Byron's "Prisoner" is forgotten for the moment in
our admiration for the Romanesque pillars and
arches that mark his dungeon, but we soon feel
that even such beauty may to charm with
chains and agony as accomplishments, and we try
to realize what Bonivard-the real prisoner of
Chillon-must have suffered during his six years
Imprisonment in these gloomy vaults Upon the
pillars of these dungeons find many a name of
note cut by the owners hand, and among them
Walter Scott, Victor Hugo and Charles Dickens.
As we are rowed from the castle to the steam
boat pier we mediate upon that fertile theme for
meditation in this land of the old and the new
the contrast between the then and the now; sharp
" illustrated for US in the Castle of Chillon with
its stiffness and its antiquity-silent index point
ing backward along the paths of time in sharp
uxtaposition to the steamboat landing of Terrtet
nineteenth century trumpet blasting the boast of
progress.
As the vessel pufs along over water bluer than
the bluest summer sky, we note upon tiny island
of rock myriads of snowy birds-pigeons we con-
clude from their size and general contours. Pres
emily they soar aloft in clouds and settle in groups
of perhaps fifty together upon the surface of the
water, floating as fearlessy and lightly as they
had done in the air. This is q new phase in the
natural history Of pigeons and we begin to doubt
the accuracy of our hasty conjecture as to tn G
identity of these graceful, snowy things We try
our poor French upon woman on our right and
our poorer German upon man who occupies our
left, in the hope of enlightenment but to no avail
These people do not think, an everyday sight is
this to their eyes, and yet it has never occurred to
them to inquire "what manner of birds are these 7"
Finally Catholic priest, in cap and gown one of
the enthusiastically deputed thinkers-for himself
and for the masses-appears upon tho scene and
kindly brings forth for us from his ample store
house of knowledge the information that these are
a species of gull, common to the Mediterranean,
and have found their way over the comparatively
short land distance between this point and the
Gulf of Lyon, to make for themselves an abiding
place on this lovely inland sea.
Lac Lehman, the local name of this charming
body of water, is crescent shaped with the bow to-
ward the north, and its southwest horn seems to
pierce the very heart of the city of Geneva. The
called "quays." And such quays! Wharves built
of native white stone and clean as a we'll kept
marble floor. There is but little traffic to be sure,
the steamboat plying being principally in the in
terest of travelling pleasure seekers. But what a
charming place is Geneva in which to live, with
its cosmopolitan population about equally divided
among French, Germans and Italians-a fair
sprinklng of English thrown in of course-with
its location giving to it unusual attractions in the
way of scenery, saiubriOusness and political con-
venience.
One meets all sorts of people here, but we had
an experience in that direction that we felt to be
unique even for Geneva.ZG tracing the head Of the
table in our pension we found a woman of wonder
| full, almost startling beauty. Her features were
not only exquistey delicate and regular in form,
but most noble in proportion. Her complexion
was dazzling fair with coloring so marvellous
that had not satisfied ourselves that no art was
there we could scarcely have realized that it was
by natures cunning hand laid on" Her hair
was absolutely golden-the only really golden
hair we have seen except in Titians pictures
and so abundant that only her loosening it and
letting it fall about her vail of glory, convinced
US that it grew upon her nobly formed head. She
was q superb physique, with contours that we're
beginning alas to take on o little heaviness but
that in the first flush of her womanhood must have
been ideally perfect. She was vivaclous to child
likeness laxative almost to garruity, and as she
ulscOuIseu III lour lanBudScs, mdudSeu W PIctty
nearly monopolize the table talk; to every ones
delight, however, for she had most brilliant
mind, and while she was simple hearted a sweet
soulod peasant, was full of poetic enthusiasm
that wss most charming. In addition to her
numerous other gifts she possessed most wonder
full voice, which was being trained with a view to
public career. She professed to be a Venetian
by birth, scion her mothers side of the grand
old house of Bard, and on her fathers of clerical
family of such nride and prOminence that she
dared not reveal the name in consideration of her
coming before the public. She had spent many
years in Paris and was, she said, the wife of
French nObleman whose name she also carefully
yuarueu, anu whose ruined fortunes she hoped to
retrieve by her successes as "cantatrice." She
was known as Madame Rita Bardi, and may have
been the veriest adventures but there were those
things about her-marks of blood, familiarity with
greatness as the world counts greatness the in
tescribahle delicate nonchalance which is the sign
manual of birth and breeding-the ensemble of
which gave plausibility to her freely given ac-
count of herself. To US she seemed second Por-
tia, lacking only the noble surroundings, the ele-
waiting circumstances that gave to Portals charac.
ter so favorable a setting. But alas life in the
French capital had tainted her spirit beauty, had
taken the finest edge from her intellectual acumen,
had little coarsened the play of her wit, which
was even vet full Of sweetness from the sweetness
of her temper, and we said to ourselves little
sadly, here might have been Portia, or better yet
Romola, but for the undue fostering of those
things which are "of the garth earthly"
A Pennsylvania Clutch" Congressman.
Phila. Times.
Daniel Ermentrout, who does the Congressional
business of the Jacksonian stronghold, of Bcrks,
- L. = H.. IL &c pron